Hervé Cordovil

Being a composer, Hervé Cordovil wrote classics just like the baião “Cabeça Inchada” (which had over 50 re-recordings in European countries), the baião “Sabiá Lá Na Gaiola” (recorded by Carmélia Alves), “Seu Gaspar” (recorded by Sílvio Caldas), the hit “Rua Augusta” (re-recorded many times by Jovem Guarda and Brazilian rock and roll artists, like his kid Ronnie Cord, Erasmo Carlos, Rita Lee, among others), and “Uma Loira” (another smash, in Dick Farney’s interpretation). He previously partnerships with Marisa Pinto Coelho (the traditional baião “Pé de Manacá”), Bonfiglio de Oliveira (“Carolina,” documented by Carlos Galhardo), Noel Rosa (“Triste Cuíca,” documented by Araci de Almeida, and “Não Resta a Menor Dúvida,” in the soundtrack towards the film Alô Alô Carnaval), Lamartine Babo (“Alô, Alô, Carnaval,” included on the soundtrack from the eponymous film, and “Seu Abóbora,” documented by Carmen Miranda), Adoniran Barbosa (“Prova de Carinho”), and Luiz Gonzaga (“A Vida perform Viajante,” “Baião da Garoa,” and “Xaxado”). Cordovil debuted as pianist and composer in 1931 at Rádio Sociedade (Rio de Janeiro) and in Romeu Silva’s orchestra. Four years afterwards, already consecrated being a pianist, his structure “Triste Cuíca” (with Noel Rosa) was documented by Araci de Almeida. That same calendar year, he executed the orchestra in Wallace Downey’s film Estudantes. “Pé de Manacá” was documented by Isaura Garcia and became a global strike. In the ’40s, he was employed by Rádio Record, where he proved helpful for nearly 30 years being a pianist, arranger, and composer, until his pension.